Marriage no solution to domestic abuse, protesters say

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At Gov. Mike Pence's first ever Summit on the Family and the Economy last week, one of the researchers who spoke drew protests outside the Indiana State Library, where state policy leaders met with noted educators and think tank leaders.

A group of about 15 women from Indianapolis, Kokomo and other areas stood on a street corner near the library with signs decrying W. Bradford Wilcox. He is director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and well-known in academia for his research on how the type of family in which children grow up impact their social, education and economic well-being.

The women were upset about a recent op-ed piece in the Washington Post by Wilcox and another researcher that the protesters said suggested that being married can help lessen violence against women. The researchers wrote that while marriage isn't a "panacea when it comes to male violence," married women are "less likely to be raped, assaulted or robbed than their unmarried peers."

Citing Department of Justice research, they wrote that married fathers "provide direct protection by watching out for physical welfare of their wives and daughters" and "indirect protection by increasing the odds they live in safe homes and are not exposed to men likely to pose a threat."

The column quickly drew backlash online – and brought Katie Blair and Anne Buckwalter, of Indianapolis, to the streets to draw attention to what they considered were Wilcox's offensive and misguided comments toward women.

"I'm protesting Wilcox for his misinformed statements about domestic violence and his proposed solution to have women get married as a solution to domestic violence, which is incredibly outrageous," said Buckwalter, a student at Oberlin College.

Blair, who works in social justice, said Wilcox's inference that "women need to stop taking lovers and go ahead and get married is very shaming toward women and not helpful and does nothing to stop domestic violence."

Wilcox, quoted in The New York Times, said this interpretation of shaming or blaming women wasn't what he intended. Rather, he said that because "marriage is so closely connected to issues of commitment, fidelity, trust, economic well-being and patterns of socializing, it is likely to bear directly and indirectly on the risks that women face."

Ryan Streeter, senior policy director for Pence, declined to comment directly on Wilcox's op-ed piece and said that particular topic of research was mentioned briefly as part of his presentation, which primarily dealt with the change in marriage patterns over the years.

But Streeter defended the decision to bring Wilcox, made earlier this year, because he is one of the most highly regarded academics on the topic of family formation and its impact on children. Streeter also said Wilcox is known for being very empirical and data-driven and non-ideological.

"He's so highly regarded in this field, it would have been odd to have a summit like this and not invite him," said Streeter.

Overall, Streeter said the summit was organized to help educate state policy makers and educators learn about these family formation trends and how they are affecting kids in order to better craft state policies and laws.

A release from governor's office said decades of social science research confirms one of the greatest causes of poverty and inequality is the number of children born to unmarried parents. The summit is an important step in developing practices in Indiana to better strengthen Hoosier families and reduce poverty, it said.

"Family is a key indicator of success and looking for ways that we can encourage more young people to get married, to stay married, to wait to have children until they're married is very important," said Pence.